And I also don't know why she was so soft (for example for the person who poisoned her husband) when she's a killer in her last life, it just doesn't make sense like wtf! But I really enjoy reading it tho haha lol
I think the whole reason she ran away is because she didnt like living her life as an empress. Like she just wanted to wear comfortable clothes and not care about concubines or palace politics and stuff. So I think currently she isnt "the empress", she took some time off the palace to rethink her life decisions lol
Also assassins kill for money generally so they can be soft hearted too. I dont think they "like" killing, idk that's my perception of her character lol
I think the reason her clothes are so plain is because she wants to keep her profile low. You know she wants to wander around, so wearing extravagant dresses or any vibrant clothes will just attract attentions. And remember that she's from the modern era, we wear light clothes that will able us to move easily, and I also believe that noble's clothes are heavy because it has so many layers of beautiful silks and other textiles, not to mention the accessories. Therefore, she chose the plainer look but is still decent enough.
To be honest i don't understand why she looks so poor while she is an empress. I mean, even though she is abandoned first, she is still the empress and she definitely have a bunch of money, a lot of servants. And if the Concubines is annoying as fucc, the empress still held her tremendous power (although she used to have personality problem before, she still can do anything) SO WHY SHE LOOKS LIKE THE ABANDONED CONCUBINE RATHER THAN AN EMPRESS ARHSGSGDJGDDSL